In May, the City Commission directed staff to undertake a review of the City Commission’s advisory boards and committees and to report back with any proposed recommendations.

Following this review of the City's current advisory boards and committees, staff recommends consolidating several of the City's advisory boards related to parks and recreation.

The Harbor Advisory Committee, Presque Isle Park Advisory Committee and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board are each charged with oversight of certain recreation activities in the city. 

PRAB was established prior to 1974 and is tasked with advising the City Commission on the operation of the parks system and recreation programs.

PIPAC was formed in 1993 and charged with reviewing and developing recommendations impacting Presque Isle Park.

HAC was formed in 1954 and tasked with advising the City Commission regarding city shoreline and waterfront topics, with a focus on the operation of marinas, mooring fields and launch facilities.

In total, these boards have 27 seats, 10 of which are currently vacant. Since the beginning of 2022, these three boards have canceled more than 25 meetings due either to a failure to meet quorum or a lack of agenda items.

Staff recommends consolidation of these three boards into a single Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to include seats representing various recreation areas from across the community.

Initially, staff is recommending the Commission appoint the 17 current members of PRAB, HAC and PIPAC to this consolidated PRAB, with a plan to reduce the membership to 11, no later than 2027.